March 30, 2018 TnH Global 0

New York City welcomed record 62.8 million visitors in 2017

Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC & Company New York City’s official destination marketing organization announced that 2017 was the eighth consecutive year for record-breaking tourism, with the City welcoming an estimated 62.8 million visitors last year, an increase of 2.3 million visitors over 2016. Visitation for 2017 was comprised of 49.7 million domestic and 13.1 million international visitors, both all-time highs.

In 2017, NYC & Company launched two campaigns, ‘New York City – Welcoming the World’ and ‘True York City’, which helped position NYC as a must-visit destination despite challenges in the geopolitical climate and changes in travel policies. Overall, tourism last year grew 3.8 percent compared to 2016, when NYC welcomed 60.5 million visitors. Domestic visitation grew 3.9 percent, from 47.8 million visitors in 2016 to 49.7 million in 2017. International travel increased by 3.4 percent, from 12.7 million visitors in 2016 to 13.1 million in 2017.

NYC & Company’s 2018 forecast anticipate another year of growth, with a 3.7 percent increase to 65.1 million visitors. NYC & Company also signed more international City-to-City tourism partnerships than any other year to boost travel including new partnerships with Cape Town, South Africa; Toronto, Canada; Tokyo, Japan; and renewals with Mexico City, Mexico; and Seoul, South Korea. These partnerships included media exchanges to further promote New York City abroad.

In 2017, the City saw several new Midtown attractions debut including National Geographic’s Encounter: Ocean Odyssey, the NFL Experience, Opry City Stage, Gullivers Gate and Spyscape. In addition, Mayor de Blasio launched the NYC Ferry last May, offering the public more ways to access the City’s diverse neighborhoods through its waterways. NYC & Company continued to promote future developments and cultural offerings across all five boroughs to its global audiences under the banner of the ‘New New York City.’